“You didn’t require the government to give you a blueprint, you did it yourselves,” he said. “Without waiting for the government to give you permission or guidance or a blueprint or a little bit of encouragement.”

“Nobody in the government said, ‘hey, wait a minute, we’ve got an idea — let’s come up with the technology to drill' shale. You came up with that idea,” he said.

The Department of Energy would disagree (and has) with that assertion.

To conclude, Rove told a long and moving story about one of a group of Navy Seals with whom he’d got quail hunting in Texas. The Iraqi war veteran was wounded multiple times during a gruesome gun battle with “bad guys” and survived to reenlist again, foregoing his signing bonus. His story, Rove said, gives him optimism that this country can overcome its obstacles.

“You overcome the difficulties of drilling thousands of feet underground for hydrocarbons,” he said. “He overcame by serving in this ghastly way.”